Abstract [en]

Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara Aktiebolag (LKAB) is a mining group with iron ore mining as the main business. One of the products is produced by refining iron ore to iron pellets, which is a quality and environmentally clever product in steel production.

When iron pellets are produced by roasting green pellets the temperature is very important. The goal is to get as much oxidation as possible from hematite to magnetite and to get correct mechanical properties. To control the process it’s important to know the temperature of the green pellets specifically and not the surrounding mechanical structure, ceramics lining in the furnace and the influence from radiation.

The goal of the project is to examine possibilities to measure temperature with a permanent measurement system of green pellets which are transported on grate cars trough pellet plant. The measurement system has to meet some requirements of environment, portability and operating time.

Analysis of the environment has been made to get specification of what a measurement system has to withstand. Proposition about assembly location has been investigated by analysis of the environment. A thermal analysis has been made of electronic components, especially electronic components that can be used in a measurement system. A analysis has also been made of which electronic components that are suited for a measurement system and can withstand the heat. A development measurement system has been developed from the results of the analysis. The system has been constructed to measure the temperature of what a system can be exposed of on a grate car. This with wireless and data-logging support and future measurements possibilities with three thermocouples of type S.

Wireless data transfer was examined to see what type is most suited for the task with knowledge of environment, transmission range, radiation and power consumption. Power sources was examined to find a power source with longest working time and highest functionality. Heat insulation and reflective materials has been investigated with the goal to get the temperature in the system enclosure as low as possible. Some different types of temperature sensors that can measure temperatures up to 1500°C and which can be mounted on a grate car has been evaluated.